The Hunting Game: A Fantasy Romance Novel

by Leila Vy

  Patience

  As soon as Amelia left, I let out the breath I was holding. I didn’t know how much longer I could take the pain. I could feel every inch of my cheeks down to my neck, every cut she made. I glanced down to see that Kailyn was slowly stirring.

  “Kailyn.” Alpha Micah also noticed.

  Kailyn’s eyes fluttered open, and I could see reality set in as she began whimpering. She also had cuts riddling her cheeks and neck. She slowly pushed herself off me.

  “Kailyn.” Alpha Micah’s voice was hoarse as tears ran down his cheeks.

  Her eyes found him and tears began rolling down her cheeks, but because of the saltiness

  of her tears, it burned her cheeks. She let out a small cry of pain. Alpha Micah struggled harder as he could see her in pain.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. “Talk to me, please.”

  She nodded and tried to stop her crying. “I am fine. How did you two get here?”

  “Apparently, they were our rescue party,” I muttered.

  Titus threw me a glare. Kailyn frowned as she looked at them.

  “I’m guessing they failed, as they are now tied up just like us,” Kailyn replied. Alpha Micah

  growled out.

  The noise grew louder; we heard shouting and crashing. When the door flew opened, I was relieved to see it was Noor. He glanced around the room and immediately came to us. He grabbed our wrists and looked at our ankles and began looking around the room for the key.

  “About time,” Titus murmured. “Hurry up and free us.”

  “That is what I am about to do, but where the hell is the key?” he asked, and when he couldn’t find it he swore under his breath before grabbing an axe. “Keep your hands apart.”

  He walked over to me, and I spread my wrist apart from each other as far as possible. I heard the swish motion of the axe before it came down on the silver. It broke in two. I moved to untie my feet. He moved to Kailyn next. After I was done, I moved quickly to Titus where I grabbed his cheek to examine him. He closed his eyes at my touch before opening them to look at me.

  “You need to leave. We can take care of this,” Titus said, and I shook my head. He rolled his eyes. “Why am I not surprised you will say no?”

  Kailyn was freed, and Noor came over to break the chain from Alpha Micah before moving to Titus. Once freed, Alpha Micah pulled Kailyn into his arms. Titus came up to me and touched my face gently. I winced in pain.

  “I’m going to kill her.”

  “Not if I get to her first,” I muttered before turning around to head out the door, but Titus grabbed my elbow and held me back.

  “Be reasonable, Patience,” he said, and I glared at him.

  “Nobody hurts my sister or me and gets away with it. Titus, either you let me do what I want to do, or I will do it without you.” I demanded as I turned to looked at him. He sighed and waved his hand for Alpha Micah to take Kailyn and leave first. Alpha Micah hesitated as I could see he also wanted to fight, but Kailyn was crying, and he knew she was his priority. He nodded and headed out the door quickly.

  Noor came up beside us. “Christian is currently holding off four rogues. I think we should go and help him out.”

  Titus nodded and allowed Noor to lead us out the door. When we arrived upon the scene, Christian was just being knocked down to the ground with a kick behind the knee. Noor quickly jumped in and began shoving the rogues off Christian. Titus turned to me and held onto my arms.

  “Stay here.” He ordered before turning to go and help his beta and gamma. I wanted to stay—I truly did—but I saw Amelia slipping out the door. I immediately ran after her and spotted her heading towards her vehicle. At an alarming speed, I was able to catch up to Amelia. I pinned her body against the car, slamming the door shut.

  “Where do you think you are going?” I asked.

  “You think you won?” She taunted as her eyes glinted with amusement. “Think again.”

  She stomped on my foot, and I yelped out in pain. This female was really pissing me off. I grabbed her broken arm and pulled hard. She cried out, as it was still healing. I pulled her towards me and threw a punch on her face. I broke her nose again.

  Letting her go, I took a step back. “I am stronger than you, and I am luna to Titus. I am his rightful mate. I am his mate by Moon Goddess herself. The bond I have with him is stronger than yours.”

  “You wish,” she spat at me.

  “No, I don’t. Moon Goddess herself blessed me with this bond.” I taunted as I moved around her in circles. “One truer than their hearts, one where resistance will be futile, one that is stronger and will not depart. Together, they will become the ultimate mates—bonded by fate for eternity. A bond stronger than all, a bond that has always been tied as one.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” she asked.

  My lips curled into a smile as I looked at her with clear intentions. “At first, I didn’t understand it too, but I did just like she told me. I opened my mind and my heart. It means that my bond was purer and truer than yours. My bond has surpassed yours, and he is mine. He was always mine, to begin with. I am not afraid. I will win this fight, and I will enjoy killing you.”

  She snickered hysterically before shifting into her wolf form; it gave her more strength. She pushed herself off her paws and came at me. Caught by surprise, I fell to the ground. I quickly shifted into mine, and before she could snap at my neck, I beat her to it, clamping her down hard. I used one of my hind legs to kick her off. She flew back and fell onto the ground with a whimper. I shifted into my human form, standing tall and completely naked in front of her as my eyes locked onto my prey. I burst into a run, and as soon as Amelia saw me coming, she stood up. She pushed herself off her hind legs, and I kicked myself up into a jump. We met each other halfway through the air where I extended my claws and grabbed her by her throat. She mewled and clawed at my hands as we landed on the ground. I could feel her blood seeping down my hand.

  I pulled her face close to mine. “I win.”

  In one swift movement, I pulled hard and ripped her head off. Blood spurted on my skin, producing a gurgling sound as she died in front of me. I dropped what I ripped from her and stared at her dead body.

  It wasn’t until I heard Titus call my name was when I zoned out from staring at Amelia. His hands were cupping my face as he shouted my name, shaking me slightly.

  “That’s it. Look at me,” he said, soothing me. I blinked several times before nodding.

  “I killed her,” I whispered, almost not recognizing my voice.

  “Yes, you did,” he said as he nodded, pulling my face into his chest and wrapping his arms around me. I hugged him back limply. “You’re okay. You’re fine now.”

  Noor came up with a blanket, and Titus wrapped it around me. We got into the vehicle that Amelia used to bring us here and drove back to the pack house. When we arrived, Titus carried me upstairs and to the bathroom where he put me in the tub and began cleaning me up. He lathered up a sponge and began washing away the blood. I sat in the tub and allowed him to do it.

  I trained relentlessly in Alpha Kyle’s pack, but I had never been sent out to kill. Amelia was the first person I had killed. The look in her eyes when I took her life haunted me, but my wolf was actually purring in delight. I knew she liked the idea of eliminating what would threaten our bond with Titus.

  “Talk to me, Patience.” Titus pleaded after he finished bathing me and pulled me up to dry me.

  “I killed someone today. Even if it was Amelia…I am not used to it,” I responded. He nodded and wrapped the towel around me before placing a hand behind my head and bringing my forehead against his, our eyes meeting.

  “You did what you had to do.”

  “Did I? I could’ve let her go.” I reasoned.

  “And she could’ve come back and killed you. Even if you were to let her go, I wouldn’t have let her go. She would be dead regardless.” Titus reasoned, and I nodded.

  He moved to touch the sca
rs on my face and neck, and his face darkened. I moved my forehead away from him and placed it on his chest to stop him from feeling angry. He hugged me tightly for a moment before he ushered me out of the shower to get dressed as he also took a shower. When he was done, he came out with a towel wrapped around his waist. He was in the middle of drying his hair when he saw me sitting on the bed. He walked over and sat next to me.

  “I have something to say,” I said.

  “What is it?” he replied.

  “Kailyn called and spoke to Kyle. He is letting her go.” Titus looked slightly panicked, and I sought to remove what I knew he feared.

  “I don’t think he is coming for me, but I just wanted to let you know,” I murmured, and he nodded before moving me to his lap. The closeness of him comforted me tremendously. “I also have something else to say.”

  He pulled back, and a frown came on his face. I shifted in his lap to get comfortable, but he tightened his grip on me. I turned to look at him, and he shook his head. The apparent hardness underneath me told me exactly why. I made an ‘O’ with my mouth before nodding.

  “What is it that you needed to say?” he asked.

  I told him about the Moon Goddess visiting me. He listened intently and was quiet after. I realized I must sound crazy telling him this, and I was just starting to think he would not believe me, but he quickly interrupted my thoughts.

  “I had heard about these kinds of dreams when I was little. My father and the council members that were close to us used to tell us about them,” he said before he grinned and looked at me. “So that means my bond tops Kyle’s.”

  I rolled my eyes and moved to get off his lap. He rolled me underneath him on the bed. His towel completely loosened now as he did so. I placed my palms on his chest. He leaned down and pecked me on the lips before kissing my scars gently. The slow cool tingling sensation of his touch was easing the pain.

  He did it until all the pain was gone and my eyes grew sleepy. I struggled to keep them open, and when I felt Titus moving away from me, my hands tightened around his shoulders.

  “Don’t leave me,” I whispered.

  “I never will,” he replied softly. “I just need to get dressed, and then I’ll come to bed.”

  I nodded and let him go. I allowed sleep to take over and when I felt the bed shift under me, I knew he came back to bed. My body crawled closer to him. He moved to kiss my forehead as I adjusted myself so that I was again half on top of him.

  “I’m thinking about officially making you mine.”

  “Didn’t you already do that?” I drowsily asked as I nuzzled my face into his chest, loving the feel of him against my cheek.

  He chuckled. “I mean, I am thinking about doing a mating ceremony.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  A couple of days later, the news of what happened had traveled through the pack. Many were not surprised by the outcome. I still struggled at times with the fact that I did really end a life. I trained all my life to fight, but never had I killed.

  It might seem like a brutal act, but in the werewolf world, we see things differently. Sometimes, things are a lot grayer than what we expect. We also can’t ignore the fact that we are born with our other half as an animal. We are predators to the outside world. We are lethal and dangerous.

  There were nights I would wake up frightened and sweaty. Titus was with me through it all. It was not so long ago that it seemed finding love was impossible, but now, not anymore.

  I sat on a picnic blanket and watched Titus and his pack play a battle strategy game on the field. Kailyn had gone home with Micah. She seemed well and happy after the traumatic event. I think it takes losing someone to realize how much they really meant. She was troubled with her loyalty to Kyle and her fate to her destined mate.

  I couldn’t imagine how life would be if Kyle had decided he wanted me and left Kailyn. Would I have met Titus? Probably not. I didn’t want to change a thing. I loved my life the way it is right now. I loved my mate who was on the field, fighting.

  After the fight was over, Titus walked over and dropped to lay down on the blanket. His head lay comfortably on my lap as he looked up at me. I smoothed back his dark black hair and gazed into his cerulean eyes, which only confirmed my thoughts earlier.

  “I can’t imagine a life without you,” I whispered.

  His smile grew wide, and he moved to slip my hair behind my ear before cupping my cheeks. I closed my eyes as warmth and tingles spread through my body by his touch. The love in my heart grew even more.

  “And same goes for me,” he replied before trailing his thumb on my bottom lip, leaving a wake of goosebumps on my skin. He always had this effect on me.

  He must’ve smelled my arousal because he flipped onto his hands and knees and proceeded to push me back. The hunger in his eyes glinted wickedly. By now, everyone had dispersed from the field, leaving their alpha and luna alone.

  He pushed me onto my back before covering my body with his. I wrinkled my nose.

  “You are sweaty,” I whined and tried to push him off me.

  “Don’t act like you don’t like it. I know you do.” He teased.

  I bit my lips to stop the smile that was growing on my face. His face hovered over mine before his eyes stared down to my lips. My heart pounded against my ribcage. I wanted to jump out and throw myself into Titus’s arms.

  “You know, Patience, I did win that battle on the field a moment ago. I think I deserve a victory kiss.” A slow, mischievous smile appeared on his face before he leaned down. I stopped the kiss from happening by blocking it with my hands. He pulled back with a frown.

  “A kiss always leads to something, Titus.” I giggled.

  “And that is bad because?” He arched an eyebrow. His upper body was held up by his forearms so he could get a good look at me.

  “Because we are out in the open!” I pushed him off me, but Titus wrapped his arms tightly around me and ended up rolling down the hill together.

  I squealed and closed my eyes. When we were halfway down the hill, he let out a painful groan. My eyes opened to see that his back had hit a large and pointed rock.

  “Patience, I am in pain. I need a kiss to take away the ache.” He feigned weakness.

  I laughed before giving him what he wanted. My upper body was on top of his, and I leaned down to kiss him on the lips. He was beginning to be very spoiled, but I had to admit I did enjoy loving this male of mine.

  A throat clearing got our attention. I pushed away from Titus only to have his arms tightened around me. We turned to look and saw Christian smiling down at us. His eyes sparkled with amusement.

  “At this rate, you two will get pregnant before Emily and me,” Christian commented.

  “Or we can get pregnant at the same time!” Emily chirped from behind Christian. She peeked behind his back to look at Titus and me.

  “Titus, let me go.” A heated blush spanned all over my cheeks. It was embarrassing to be caught by pack members in such a compromising situation and to also have them think about getting pregnant already.

  “I think that isn’t a bad idea, Christian. I think I better get to work right now. This pack needs another little alpha running around.” Titus grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at me.

  I swatted his chest playfully. “Can you just stop teasing?”

  He laughed heartily. “I’ll let you go if you kiss me.”

  I rolled my eyes as Christian and Emily laughed. Titus was really spoiled. Eventually, he did end up letting me go. Once Titus did, Emily took hold of my hand.

  “Patience, let’s go shopping. We have a lot of things to prepare for the mating ceremony. You know, we need to look at the food that we will have at the ceremony, and we also need to get the decorations. It will be an amazing night,” Emily said eagerly. “Plus, we can’t forget the most important person—you. We need to find you a dress perfect for your mating ceremony. Soon, you will officially be Alpha Titus’s mate.”

  “She’s already officiall
y mine,” Titus remarked from the ground.

  Christian chortled, and I scoffed. “Not until you catch me, I am not.”

  His eyes darkened with anticipation and pleasure. “Patience, you know that I will catch you, and when I do, you will be mine. It will be easy. I have done it at the hunting game, and I will do it again.”

  The memories of the hunting game brought a smile to my face. I remembered the first time I met him. He killed another male to get to me. Possessive and dominating.

  “Confident, eh?” I asked. “I am counting on you catching me, Titus.”

  He pushed himself off the grass in an attempt to grab hold of my wrist, but I jumped out of his way. Laughing, I took hold of Emily’s hand and ran up the hill towards the pack house. I needed to plan.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Tonight, the moon was shining down brightly in acceptance to the individuals who were awake below, celebrating. It was as if the Moon Goddess herself was blessing the ceremony. Faint small light bulbs hung on strings from the trees around the open ground of Titus’s pack territory. The pack members stood, watching with excited smiles on their faces. It was a moment they were honored to witness, the only mating ceremony for their alpha and the formal introduction of their luna. Standing in a long dark red dress that touched the ground and a low v-neck that covered enough to keep me decent but left enough to entice Titus, I looked ahead at who was in front of me.

  He was shirtless with a pair of black trousers. The pack tattoo and alpha symbol on his arm was proudly displayed for everyone to see. His black hair slicked back neatly as he watched me with his piercing cerulean eyes. That male in front of me was really all mine. Without speaking out loud, his eyes began beckoning me forward, and as if my body knew what he wanted, I followed. When I was close enough to him, he moved to take hold of my hand, leading me up to stand before him on equal ground.

  His other hand came up to place two fingers under my chin, and then he lifted my gaze to his. His eyes held so much warmth and love. It made feel fuzzy and happy. Out of everything in my life, he was the only choice I had full confidence in.